Getting there: Flights from Miami and Fort Lauderdale on multiple airlines land at Marsh Harbour.
Ferry service within the Abacos is run by Albury's, www.alburysferry.com, 242-367-0290.
Sailing charters are available from The Moorings and Florida Yacht Charters, www.floridayacht.com, 305-532-8600.
Dive shops are scattered throughout the islands. For kayaking and birding tours, contact Abaco Outback in Marsh Harbour, www.abacooutback.com/birding.htm. Bonefishing guides are also available on most islands. Rental bikes, scooters, boats and golf carts are widely available.
All lodging rates listed before are for summer; rates are often highest Jan. 1- July 31 and lowest in fall. Most lodgings have a pool; many have marinas as well.
GREAT ABACO
The main island stretches 125 miles long, 25 miles wide, with 13,000 residents. Marsh Harbour is the commercial center, with a Costco, stoplight, movie theater and a half-dozen restaurants lining ''the strip,'' also home to Iggy Biggies and John Bull shops.
Lodging
• Abaco Beach Club: Comfortable resort in Marsh Harbour; a favorite with yachters and deep-sea anglers, with marina and two pools.
• Abaco Club at Winding Bay, managed by Ritz Carlton: Low-key luxury club created by shipping magnate Peter de Savary, with villas overlooking the sea, plus private homes. Links-style golf course, spectacular beach, spa, children's club, tennis and equestrian center. Though it is a private club, nonmembers are allowed a one-time visit with accommodations in one of the spacious ''cabanas;'' rates are $650 per night. 888-303-2765 or www.theabacoclub.com.
• Treasure Cay: Resort with its own airport, 25 miles from Marsh Harbour. Villas, pools, golf, marina and a long beautiful beach. www.treasurecay.com; 800-327- 1584. From $160; $140 after Aug. 1.
Dining
• Mangoes: Widely considered the town's best restaurant, in a cheery setting with a dock jutting over the water. 242-367-2366; www.mangoesabaco.com. Dinner entrees, $12.50-$32.50.
• Wally's: Gourmet fare from local ingredients, served on the wide porch of a colonial-style home. 242-367-2074. Entrees, $23-45.
• Sapodilly's: A casual locals's fave, under the trees. 242-367-3498. Entrees, $14-$36.
Don't miss:
• Snorkeling/diving
• Abaco Parrot
• Horse refuge, www.arkwild.org.
• Pete's Pub (funky beach pub in Little Harbour), www.petespubandgallery.com.
ELBOW CAY/HOPE TOWN
This Loyalist stronghold-turned-tourist town of 624 was settled in 1785 and still exudes historic ambiance; ''streets'' are walkways where no cars are allowed. A striped lighthouse, built in 1864, rises 120 feet above sea level. The island is popular with families, sailors and surfers, and features a great beach.
Lodging
• Seaspray Resort and Marina: Small resort with a good restaurant at the east end of the island; you'll need a taxi or golf cart to get into town. www.seasprayresort.com; 242-366-0065. Villas from $180.
• Abaco Inn: Collection of cheerful bungalows and more upscale villas overlooking pool and beach; again, too far to walk to town. www.abacoinn.com; 800-468-8799. From $126.
• Hope Town Harbour Lodge: Cheery historic lodge with some cottages, spans beach to harbor, in town. Great pool. www.hopetownlodge.com; 866-611-9797. From $155.
• Home rentals: Hope Town Hideaways, www.hopetownhideaways.com; 242-366-0224. Tellin, www.abacos.com/tellin; 242-366-0289.
Dining
• Boat House Restaurant at SeaSpray Resort: Seafood specialties like stuffed grouper, cracked conch and lobster, under $42.
• Hope Town Lodge
Don't miss:
• Lighthouse
• Wyannie Malone Historic Museum, http://hopetownmuseum.com.
GREAT GUANA CAY
Reached by ferry from Marsh Harbour (near Conch Inn), Great Guana is a golf-cart island sans cars, home to 163. A cheery village rings the harbour, but this is a snorkeling/surfing hang out -- not a shopper's corner.
Lodging
• Dolphin Beach Resort: Sweet cheery cottages sit above the pristine beach; there's also a pool and restaurant. www.dolphinbeachresort.com; 800-222-2646. From $200 through August; low season rate drops to $135.
• Orchid Bay: Upscale yacht club, marina and restaurant, with private homes for sale and rent. 242-365-5175; www.orchidbay.net. Two-bedroom villas start at $500 a night, with four nights minimum.
Dining
• Nipper's: Nipper's has it all: Beach, bar, restaurant, music and pool. Open throughout the week, but busiest on Sunday afternoon's for the pig roast. www.nippersbar.com, 242-365-5143. Dinner buffet, $20.
• Docksiders: In the casually-elegant space formerly housed by Blue Water Grill; one of the island's more upscale options. Owned by Dolphin Beach Resort; 242-365-5137.
Don't miss:
• Snorkeling
• Hanging on the beach
• Nippers
GREEN TURTLE CAY
This 3.5 square mile isle feels like a village with historic feel; a hit with sailors, yachties and anglers. The local population numbers 538.
Lodging/dining
• Green Turtle Club: Rooms, suites and villas with breezy style and colonial touches, restaurants plus a clubby bar. From $230 through July 22, when rates drop to $180. www.greenturtleclub.com; 242-365-4271.
• Bluff House: Upscale hotel with marina, restaurants, pools. From $170 through summer. www.bluffhouse.com; 800-745-4911.
MAN O'WAR CAY
Home to the Abacos' boat-building and sail-making efforts, about 300 locals live here. Lodging is limited to weekly rentals, and restaurants are few. For most visitors, this is a day trip. Don't miss the Albury Sail Shop for canvas bags.
ANNUAL EVENTS
• Five Towns Regatta Time is the islands' biggest event, July.
• BBC Marsh Harbour Championship fishing tournament, April.
• Junkanoo Summer Festival, Marsh Harbour, June-August.
INFORMATION
• Tourism information: 800-OUT-ISLANDS, www.myoutislands.com, www.bahamas.com
• The Abaconian is the local newspapers, www.abaconian.com.
• For more on the controversy surrounding Bakers Bay, see www.saveguanacayreef.com. For info on Bakers Bay, www.bakersbayclub.com.
-- JANE WOOLDRIDGE
